If I were to sell...

[Steve85569]

I finally settle on boxes with sniffer holes punched in them.
Logo on one side and ingredients on the other.
Simple and effective. I don't sell so I don't seal the top flaps of the boxes. That way friends can just open them up and see them.

I wouldn't want to send someone home with an ugly bar of soap.

 

[earlene]

I really favor Rain Shadow. It speaks to me in a very pleasant way. I like the mood it sets. I would linger at Rain Shadows door and likely enter.

 

[cerelife]

But it is your baby and you have to go with what resonates with you.

Yes, this!! Perfectly said

 

[jules92207]

I use to call my soaps Simple Soaps and even had a stamp I use to mark all my soaps with, then I saw that Simply Soap company too and had to start from scratch. I also only sell to friends and family as a hobbyist so I struggled with a name till my friend came by and bought some bars off the tailgate of my truck - that’s how I came to Tailgate Soaps. Picking a name is so special so don’t feel rushed, everyone here has given some awesome suggestions [emoji4]

 

[lenarenee]

I think you all have it right; I have to choose the name that's right for me and not think about what name is going to please the most people. I'm going to take a few days to not think about this, then return and see how things sound after sitting on them for a while.

 

[Primrose]

Basin Bliss?
Bath and Basin Bliss?

 

[lenarenee]

Alright I'm back to working on this -had a 2 week spring break and got distracted.

A friend of mine (in marketing) suggested I use black packaging as it signals more upscale product, and I could raise the price of soap to go along with it. Problem is, I really hate black. I won't even wear black socks or shoes. (except for funerals). It does solve the problem of choosing a label color that matches every color of the soap bars however.

I also believe that upscale is almost always a farce, and I also find it pretentious. I prefer to be genuine; I don't dress to impress, and I don't want my soap to dress to impress. It should be approachable. I also want to convey "quality".

Which brings me back to the name. I think everybody should have quality soap; it should not be a "treat". While this idea is similar to "affordable luxury" it's still off the mark and I can't figure out why. What name portrays special and common at the same time?

I've added: savor, delight, comfort, lavish to possible words to include.

 

[BattleGnome]

Savor Soaps - with the right frilly font it could look slightly French, which people associate with upscale beauty products. You wouldn’t have to state anything in your marketing if you didn’t want to.

Delightful Comforts?
Lavish Delights?


One way you might decide on a name is by picking your packaging first. Having something tangible might give you a different inspiration. Like a still life exercise, the painter interprets the bowl of fruit in front of them instead of coming up with something from thin air.

 

[NsMar42111]

Just a quick head poke in...but Seank I read as Skank the first time through...lol

 

[lenarenee]

Savor Soaps - with the right frilly font it could look slightly French, which people associate with upscale beauty products. You wouldn’t have to state anything in your marketing if you didn’t want to.

Delightful Comforts?
Lavish Delights?


One way you might decide on a name is by picking your packaging first. Having something tangible might give you a different inspiration. Like a still life exercise, the painter interprets the bowl of fruit in front of them instead of coming up with something from thin air.

Good idea to try picking the packaging first! Even just getting and idea for it will help narrow names down. And I love Lavish Delights!

Update: am I crazy for this: Flip Over Soaps, enthusiastically made by your local soap geek

 

[BattleGnome]

That would be awesome, especially if you can figure out how to design a logo that can be read upside down.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

And I love Lavish Delights!

Me too!

 

[lenarenee]

That would be awesome, especially if you can figure out how to design a logo that can be read upside down.

Great idea!! AND....it will bring new life to my boringly square soap bars. I like some texture on top, but with a lard recipe it takes so long for the soap to set up with most fo's, so I get flat top soaps. (I just can't spend 150 bucks on the tall and skinny molds I want.) Hmm...may have to get a mat or some simple way to include some kind of decoration on the bottom.

 

[cerelife]

A friend of mine (in marketing) suggested I use black packaging as it signals more upscale product, and I could raise the price of soap to go along with it. Problem is, I really hate black. I won't even wear black socks or shoes. (except for funerals). It does solve the problem of choosing a label color that matches every color of the soap bars however.

I also believe that upscale is almost always a farce, and I also find it pretentious. I prefer to be genuine; I don't dress to impress, and I don't want my soap to dress to impress. It should be approachable. I also want to convey "quality".

Which brings me back to the name. I think everybody should have quality soap; it should not be a "treat". While this idea is similar to "affordable luxury" it's still off the mark and I can't figure out why. What name portrays special and common at the same time?

My packaging is part of my branding, so I never change colors to match the soap.
And while my packaging is clean and simple, my booth tends to be anything but!! I had a picture in my mind of a Baroque French Salon and adapted that idea into my table displays and tent. So, yep...it's quite pretentious. I mean, for heaven's sake, I've got a mini chandelier hanging in my tent, LOL!!
BUT...it gets peoples' attention, and is too goofy/unusual to be unapproachable!! And once they stop in, they're surprised by how affordable my products actually are (my soap is $5/bar), and they buy; tell their friends; etc. It works well for me
To me ALL quality soap is a treat! And I want my customers to feel like royalty when buying my soap, no matter how affordable, including walking away with my custom shopping bag! I order these in a couple of sizes and stamp them with my logo and brand name myself!
https://www.nashvillewraps.com/bags/white-shopping-bags/p-843
Just because your products are affordable doesn't mean that you can't have fun with the luxury aspect!

 

[cmzaha]

Naming is hard. Ours is so simple, just initials, but people will take the time to ask what it means, which means they are at my booth longer which gives me more possibility of selling to them. I am kinda of laughing that your friend mentioned black, the main part of my label is black and someone once told me my label was dark and ugly. It was not a customer that told me that...

Boxes are nice but are just to expensive for me, and I would not make money selling bars for $5. Also if doing outdoor markets the boxes get pretty beat up, even shrink wrap has to be replaced periodically. Lenarenee do cost everything out when setting a price, which is typically $7 per bar in our area.

 

[lenarenee]

Cerelife, why did you choose boxes over shrink wrap? How do the soaps fare over time; does the scent fade much?

Boxes just add to much expensive for me, and I would not make money selling bars for $5. Lenarenee do cost everything out when setting a price, which is typically $7 per bar in our area.

Excellent point cmzaha, I did make a general cost check and found (including paying myself 20 bucks and hour) it costs about 2.50 to make a bar. Lye and fragrance oil are the biggest costs. Having "fancy" labels printed at a printer is now a pipe dream. Boxes interest me for those soaps who are on the edge of cure time. (3-4 weeks). But I like to be able to see the whole soap.

 

[cmzaha]

Excellent point cmzaha, I did make a general cost check and found (including paying myself 20 bucks and hour) it costs about 2.50 to make a bar. Lye and fragrance oil are the biggest costs. Having "fancy" labels printed at a printer is now a pipe dream. Boxes interest me for those soaps who are on the edge of cure time. (3-4 weeks). But I like to be able to see the whole soap.

Yeah, you did your homework.... My soaps cost me $2.50- 3.00 to make and my camel milk soap considerably higher. Those I do not make much on. Of course for me, I have to figure in gas, booth cost and website cost. Our site is not a freebie one. We tried boxes when we first started and for the amount of soaps I make I would go broke. I take a selection of 40 -50 soaps to my markets x 14 bars per batch makes for a lot of boxes. I remember a few years ago we changed our label and many customers noticed and commented that we had changed name (dba) and label, so customers do notice changes

 

[cerelife]

Cerelife, why did you choose boxes over shrink wrap? How do the soaps fare over time; does the scent fade much?

Sorry for the delay! We're getting our garden planted, so I've had very little free time lately!!
Anyway, my choice to use boxes vs shrink wrap is purely aesthetic. I despise the look and feel of hard plastic shrink wrap on anything and tend to avoid soaps in shrink wrap. And I mean no offense to you cmzaha...your soaps are so wonderful that I would overcome my plastic aversion to buy them
As for cost, the average in my area is pretty well set at $5/bar for handmade soap, so I'm kind of stuck with that even though my cost is similar at about $2 to $2.50 a bar. My boxes currently cost me 20 cents each and I make my own labels, so I'm not too unhappy with things. I feel like the extra 20 cents (not counting the cost of labels since you would have to make them anyway) is worth it. But of course, that's just me!
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/products/soap-box-rectangle-window-white-color.aspx
Per your other questions:
My soaps fare very well and I haven't noticed any scent loss. If anything, the scent bleeds into the boxes so they actually smell stronger. However, I do store my cured boxed soaps in plastic shoeboxes like these for each scent.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BDTETW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
I transport them in these boxes for fairs and shows as well, so it really cuts down on the wear and tear on the soap boxes, but it does take up a good bit of room if that's an issue for you.

 

[lenarenee]

I have a few more name ideas. Is it just me that can love a name one week - and then do a 180 on it a week later?? So frustrating.

Flip Over Handmade Soap Co.

Delightly Soap Co.

Selador Soap Co. (yup, that's a made up word. I'm getting desperate

White Wagon Soap Co. (a weird one I know - but it's dependent on a selling style that I probably don't have the nerve to put into action....and it involves a white wagon)

 

[penelopejane]

The one I like out of those is White Wagon Soap Co
I still like Humble Soap Co and Rainshadow.